In Reply to: your dictionary is simplistic posted by Angela on Wednesday, 26. April 2006 at 22:20 Bali Time:
Collins English Dictionary [UK]:
Makes reference to the Greek origin.
[Current usage] One who believes that man's conduct is based on self-interest; a surly, morose man.
Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary [US]:
Makes reference to the Greek origin.
[Current usage] A sneering, faultfinding person; Especially one who believes that all men are motivated by selfishness.
Roget's International Thesaurus:
Many synonyms under the headings of
1. Pessimist.
2. Misanthrope.
3. Ascetic.
I particularly like this quote from George Bernard Shaw listed under "pessimist":
'A man who thinks everybody as nasty as himself and hates them for it'.
Like many popular quotes, perhaps more amusing than accurate, but maybe with at least a grain of truth.
Re-read the comment by Templers which I responded to:
"for god's sake go get a life, if you want to get ripped off--good, just don't inflict your pathetic dibble on the rest of us.
One day you might--just might-- grow up!"
I would say that some of the "current usage" definitions reasonably come to mind when we read this. And unless specifically stated otherwise, at least most of us would be thinking in terms of current usage!
I know Peter personally, which is perhaps more than Templers does. If Peter is a romantic and an optimist, then that's both his choice and his good luck. Just like most of us, Peter has had his ups and downs in life, but he is a survivor. Perhaps I can see his point of view because by nature I am a romantic and an optimist too. But I'm neither a "hopeless romantic", nor a "cockeyed optimist" and I bet the same applies to Peter too.
It's great that we can come on here and both agree and disagree about all sorts of things. But the relative anonymity of the internet is no excuse for unnecessary and potentially hurtful comments like the post from Templers.